Tonight American Idol
is all about the number 13. It's the 13th episode of the 13th season,
and this year's Top 13 will be revealed. And that's bad luck for seven
more contestants whose journeys will come to end after a brutal Rush
Week that has already eliminated 11 singers.

Over the past two nights we've seen the Top 10 Girls and Guys perform to varying degrees of success. Some shined (M.K. Nobilette, Caleb Johnson) while others crashed and burned (Marrialle Sellars, Emmanuel Zidor). Now we find out which five guys and five girls earned enough votes for a spot in the Top 13, followed by the judges letting a few singers perform again for a shot at one of the three Wild Card spots.

BuddyTV's other American Idol expert, Jeff Dodge, is predicting that the Top 10, based on America's votes, will be: Briana, Jessica, Majesty, Malaya, M.K., Alex, Caleb, C.J., Sam and Spencer. I agree with him on eight of those picks, though I'd switch out Briana and Alex with Jena and Ben. However, I think Briana and Alex will get Wild Card spots, Jeff thinks Jena and Ben will get Wild Card spots, and we both agree Malcolm will get the final spot, so Jeff and I are in 100 percent agreement on who the Top 13 will be. Let's see if we're right.

THIS...is American Idol!

With so much to do this week, they're not wasting any time. After just five minutes, we've already recapped last night and introduced the judges.

The Top 10

Then we get right into the results of America's vote. No muss, no fuss, just names.

The first singer in the Top 13 is...Malaya Watson!The second singer in the Top 13 is...Ben Briley!The third singer in the Top 13 is...Emily Piriz! Wow, that's the first shock for me.The fourth singer in the Top 13 is...Alex Preston! Jeff gets that one right over me.The fifth singer in the Top 13 is...Jessica Meuse!The sixth singer in the Top 13 is...Dexter Roberts! Wow, both country boys made it.The seventh singer in the Top 13 is...Caleb Johnson! Awesome, since he was my favorite guy.The eighth singer in the Top 13 is...Majesty Rose!

That leaves just one guy and one girl, but a lot of talent. C.J. Sam, Spencer, Malcolm, M.K., Briana and Jena are all still waiting. This is gonna get ugly and the judges are going to be left with some very hard decisions for those three precious Wild Card spots.

The ninth singer in the Top 13 is...M.K. Nobilette! Whew.The 10th singer in the Top 13 is...Sam Woolf!

So Jeff and I each correctly predicted four of the five girls (missing Emily) and we only got three out of five guys (we each thought Spencer and C.J. would've been in). And I don't want to claim racism, but it's interesting that the four black guys and Spencer didn't get in.

Wild Cards

Now the judges will pick five singers to perform again, and they will then decide which three of them will make it into the Top 13.

C.J. Harris: He's the first to get another chance, and he deserves it. This is going to be hard because I love his voice so much, but this performance isn't great at all, and Harry Connick, Jr. points out that the band may have messed that one up. Hmm, this is not the right time to screw up and it seems like nerves got the better of him. He may have just handed his spot to someone else.

Jena Irene: This is another choice I approve of since I thought she was getting in with America's vote. After showing us her dark rocker side on Tuesday, now she's sitting down at the keyboard for a more emotional song. It's beautiful and Keith Urban loved her artistry. She may have just earned her place.

Spencer Lloyd: It pays to be cute. He's got his guitar and sings his original song, "Ordinary Girl." I'm not wild about doing an original at this stage in the competition, but it's the kind of song designed to make girls scream his name and fall in love with him. Jennifer Lopez is very non-committal in her critique, which basically means they hate this song.

Bria Anai: Really? Seriously? Did Harry mean Briana Oakley and just get the name wrong? She does "It's a Man's Man's Man's World." Like her performance on Tuesday, all I hear is a lot of shouting and runs. It's the kind of thing that she thinks is good, but isn't. Harry speaks the truth by saying it was passionate, but all over the place. Um, so thus far we have negative criticism from three of the four Wild Card singers.

Kristen O'Connor: WTF? I mean, she was fine, but this means Briana Oakley and Malcolm Allen don't even get another chance to sing, which is a crime. She sings Katy Perry's "Unconditionally." Like Tuesday, it's fine, but she has absolutely no chance of winning this competition and, if in the Top 13, will absolutely be going home next week because she's so bland and forgettable. Keith calls it "good" and "really good," which isn't the compliment it sounds like. He also points out that the key was wrong.

Well, after those five performances, I'm confident that Jena is definitely in and Bria is definitely out. I'd go with the guys, because I like listening to C.J. and looking at Spencer. But it's not a good sign that the judges gave some slightly negative criticism to four of the five people singing for their lives.

How about they shock everyone and just pick Briana, Malcolm and Kenz Hall?

The Wild Card Results

After one last commercial break, the judges deliberate and pick three of those five singers to win a spot in the Top 13. But let's be honest: Jena is the only one who really earned it.

The 11th singer in the Top 13 is...Jena Irene!The 12th singer in the Top 13 is...Kristen O'Connor! Ugh, what a waste. She'll just go home next week.The 13th singer in the Top 13 is...C.J. Harris!

Boo! Now I need to watch the rest of the season with having Spencer to look at? I'm happy for two of the Wild Cards, but Kristen is a total red shirt. Damn it, Spencer, why did you sing your dumb-ass original song instead of "Say Something"?

Anyway, now we have our Top 13, and Jeff and I correctly predicted 10 of them. But we missed Emily, Kristen and Dexter in favor of Briana, Malcolm and Spencer. Our picks would've been much, much better. The competition continues on Wednesday at 8pm with the generic theme, "This Is Me."